Canadian Carrier Forces Maumee River Closure

Canadian Carrier Forces Maumee River Closure



January 2008  - Droves of cleanup workers spent 
much of the weekend trying to contain and collect 3,300 gallons of diesel 
fuel that spilled into Ohio's Maumee River Friday night by a Canadian bulk 
carrier. 
Loaded with grain, the Algonorth was leaving the Midwest Marine Terminal 
Friday night when the vessel's stern smashed into the dock, rupturing two 
fuel tanks 10 feet above the water line, according to the U.S. Coast Guard 
and company officials. 
The 730 foot carrier is owned by Algoma Central Marine of St. Catharines, 
Ontario and managed by Seaway Marine Transport. 
The spill forced a closure of the Maumee River, the largest river flowing 
into the Great Lakes. Four commercial vessels were delayed as a result. 
After a 14-hour river closure, the Captain of the Port opened the river 
just after noon Saturday. 
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Toledo, Ohio Environmental Protection 
Agency, the city of Toledo, Environmental Services and oil spill response 
contractors continue to respond to the spill of 3,100 gallons of light 
diesel and 200 gallons of blended fuel. 
The Coast Guard and clean-up contractors deployed a 2,400 foot boom of 
containment material in the vicinity of the spill.

An additional 1,600 feet of boom is available but is not needed, since 
most of the spill will have evaporated or dissipated by now making it 
unrecoverable, incident team officials said. 
BP Oil, Sun Oil and the Northern Ohio and Michigan Aid consortium provided 
resources to the response. 
Boats from Coast Guard Station Toledo and an HH-65 helicopter from Coast 
Guard Air Station Detroit provided surface and aerial patrols to search 
for impacted areas. 
Prevailing winds blew some of the floating fuel to the shore at the 
Midwest Terminal where workers tried to suck up the fuel with vacuum 
trucks and absorb it with large pads. 
The spill was the largest in the Maumee River in years, officials said, 
but it could have been far worse. The spill amounted to less than one 
percent of the fuel on the ship, said Captain John Greenway, vice 
president of operations for Seaway Marine Transport, which manages the 
Algonorth. 
But the spill worsens environmental conditions on the river, which was 
just beginning to recover from decades of dumping toxic waste, pesticides 
and herbicides. 
The 1987 U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement lists 43 Areas of 
Concern - specific geographic regions where aquatic life is impaired. The 
Maumee River is one of them. 
The Great Lakes Wiki information service, which tracks the 43 Areas of 
Concern, says, "The river has begun to recover and is exhibiting signs of 
a healthy ecosystem. Walleye are beginning to run and breed on a regular 
basis. The eagles have begun to re-occupy their niche here as well." 
The spilled fuel spread over about a square mile, but most of it should 
evaporate, officials said. The cause of the incident is under 
investigation. 

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